Colleagues and Companions on the Way,

We are pleased and excited to announce three additional new faith community starts beginning July 1.  God has called Sally and Alex Perez, John Helmiere, and Andy Oliver to the special ministry of church planting. Please bathe these planters and their families with prayer as this summer brings new beginnings to our Conference!

Alex and Sally Perez
Nueva Generacion de Dios (Pasco, WA)

Sally and Alex come to us from the Assemblies of God.  They have found a new denominational home with the United Methodist Church with our balance of vital piety and social holiness.  This gifted team will attend Licensing School at Claremont School of Theology this summer as they move toward ordination in the UMC.  God’s New Generation has been a “tent making” ministry to the Hispanic/Latino community in and around Pasco.  Now that Alex and Sally have transitioned from established secular careers to full time ministry, we anticipate that this Spanish language faith community will further thrive under their leadership.
These spiritual entrepreneurs will open new mission fields, in new ways for the UMC in Pasco and beyond. Alex and Sally have four children: Alexis, Natalie, Alejandro, and Carrissa.

Andy Oliver
East Vancouver, WA
Andy Oliver has pastored established churches in Satsop, Hoquiam, and Tumwater.  Now, he feels called to plant a new faith community that is, from the beginning, a fresh start for people who want a relationship with Jesus and who also want to live the social justice implications of that relationship.  East Vancouver is one of the rapidly growing areas of our Conference and is a strong affinity match for Andy and his wife, Jodi, who is an energetic partner in this new ministry.

A church start offers pastors like Andy – who have a history of successful ministry, who have vision, but who also exhibit “planter wiring” – the opportunity to shape a community of faith that reflects the mission field and gives expression to the Gospel in our time.  The East Vancouver mission field that this new faith community will reach is urban/suburban, middle class, educated, and socially progressive. Andy and Jodi have two daughters, Carolina and Annie Kate.

John Helmiere
Columbia City/Rainier Valley(Seattle, WA)

John Helmiere has completed his seminary education at Yale Divinity School.  With his wife, Freddie, they have moved to Seattle to follow a calling and plant a new church that can bridge the differences and celebrate the unity of people from a variety of cultural backgrounds – particularly those who long for God but have not found a community of faith that can speak to both their spiritual hunger and their reluctance to consider the place of church in their lives.

The Columbia City neighborhood and the Rainier Valley represent a mission field full of vibrant, urban diversity – the kind of setting John has worked with in the past, and that beckons him as he begins this new ministry. Freddie and John were married less than a year ago.  Freddie is looking forward to the new, next steps in her career as she eagerly works beside John in the new faith community.